1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a PDP that minimizes differences in discharge voltages of discharge cells.
2. Description of the Background
Generally, a PDP is a next-generation flat panel display that utilizes gas discharge to display images. Anywhere from a few hundred thousand to a few million discharge cells may be formed in a matrix configuration within the PDP. Depending on discharge cell structure and driving voltage waveforms, the PDP may be classified as a direct current (DC) PDP or an alternating current (AC) PDP.
In a conventional surface discharge AC PDP, address electrodes, barrier ribs, and phosphor layers are formed on a rear substrate at areas corresponding to discharge cells, and display electrode pairs comprising a scan electrode and a sustain electrode are formed on a front substrate orthogonally to the address electrodes. A dielectric layer and a protection layer cover the display electrodes. A discharge as (typically an Ne—Xe compound gas) may be filled in the discharge cells.
The phosphor layers may be made of red, green, and blue phosphor materials, and they may be deposited in the red (R), green (G) and blue (B) discharge cells, respectively. The blue phosphor material is typically made of BaMgAl10O17:Eu (barium magnesium aluminate where Eu is centered about illumination), the green phosphor material is typically made of Zn2SiO4:Mn (zinc silicate where Mn is centered about illumination) and BaAl12O19:YBO3:Tb, and the red phosphor material is typically made of Y0.35Gd0.35BO3 (yttrium gadolinium borate where Eu is centered about illumination), Y2O3:Eu, and Gd2O3:Eu.
Generally, the PDP displays images using a gas discharge to emit vacuum ultraviolet (UV) rays, which excite the phosphor layers to emit visible light. Color images may be obtained by selectively performing this operation.
Forming the phosphor layers using different materials for the different colors as described above may develop variations in a discharge voltage margin for the different colored phosphor layers. Consequently, a discharge voltage that is an average of the different discharge voltages required must be used. Further, since the phosphor layers may exhibit dissimilar illumination efficiencies according to the type of discharge gas used and discharge voltage conditions, any limitations put on the discharge voltage may adversely affect overall performance.
Accordingly, there is a need for a configuration that minimizes variations in discharge voltage margins, thereby allowing for the selection of discharge voltages over a large range.